NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 17, 2002--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on the United Mexican States. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on Mexico. The outlook on the long-term ratings remains stable. "The stable outlook incorporates the expectation that the government will continue to pursue fiscal policy that contains the public sector's debt burden while gradually addressing growing spending needs in the social sector, public-sector pensions, and physical infrastructure," said Sovereign Analyst Joydeep Mukherji. According to Mr. Mukherji, a slow pace of structural reform is unlikely to undermine creditworthiness but does lower growth prospects, through both foregone private
